In 1989, the Gold Coast was granted a new commercial FM licence, and the brand that launched on 90.9 FM chose a name that said everything about where it was broadcasting from and who it was for. Sea FM became the sound of coastal Australia: Top 40 hits, local energy, and the kind of programming that fits whether you're in the car heading to the beach or already there with the radio on. More than three decades later, the Sea FM name is still on the air across Queensland, Tasmania and beyond, a rare example of a regional radio brand that outlasted multiple ownership changes, rebranding campaigns, and industry consolidations.
Born on the Gold Coast, Built for Coastal Australia
Sea FM launched in 1989 as 90.9 Sea FM on the Gold Coast, created by Gold Coast Broadcasters with programming consulted by Austereo, one of Australia's most influential broadcast networks. The station was backed by media figure Reg Grundy, whose financial involvement helped RG Capital expand the Sea FM brand throughout Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania in the years that followed. At its peak, Sea FM operated as one of Australia's most recognizable regional radio networks, its name synonymous with the beaches, sunshine and casual energy of the coastal communities it served.
The format was clear from the start: Top 40 and popular music, targeting listeners under 40, with local breakfast and daytime programming alongside networked content. In 2004, RG Capital sold the regional stations to Macquarie Regional RadioWorks, which later became Southern Cross Austereo. From 2013 onwards, most Sea FM stations were gradually rebranded as Hit Network stations, though the Gold Coast flagship bounced between Sea FM and Hit90.9 branding several times before returning to 90.9 Sea FM in August 2021.
The Format: Top 40 That Fits the Coast
Sea FM programs for the specific listening context of coastal Australian life: commutes, beach days, outdoor afternoons, the kind of listening that happens when you want the radio on but don't want to think too hard about what's playing. The format delivers:
- Contemporary Top 40 hits, the songs currently dominating Australian and international charts, played in rotation with enough frequency that you always know where you stand in the music cycle.
- Pop and dance crossovers, the tracks that sit between pop radio and dancefloor culture, the kind of music that works at any volume and in any setting.
- Local breakfast and drive programming, the format that has always distinguished Sea FM from pure music streams. Local voices, local content, local community connection — the thing that makes a regional station feel different from a national playlist.
- Hit music from multiple eras, not locked strictly to current releases, with enough depth to serve a broad audience across the under-40 demographic.
Sea FM Tasmania: Still Flying the Flag
Sea FM Tasmania operates as "Tasmania's Hit Music Station" on 107.7FM and 101.7FM, serving Devonport, Burnie and the broader island market independently from the mainland network. Tasmania is one of the regions where the Sea FM brand has remained most consistent, reflecting the station's deep roots in the community it serves. The Tasmanian stations are accessible via iHeartRadio as well as streaming online, making them available well beyond their FM footprint.
Why the Sea FM Brand Has Survived
Australian radio has seen dozens of regional brands absorbed, rebranded, or dissolved over the past thirty years. Sea FM has survived multiple rounds of that process, in part because the name carries genuine meaning to listeners who grew up with it. In radio, brand equity with a specific audience in a specific geography is hard to replicate, which is why Sea FM keeps coming back even after periods of rebranding. For a listener on the Gold Coast or in Tasmania, Sea FM isn't just a frequency. It's a specific memory of what the radio sounded like on a summer morning.
The online stream extends that identity globally, connecting Australian expats and international listeners who want a taste of coastal Australian radio culture without being anywhere near a beach. Hit music, local warmth, thirty-plus years of broadcasting history — Sea FM streams all of it.
Stream Sea FM Free on Radio Shuffle
Tune in to Sea FM on Radio Shuffle — no account, no app, no fee. Press play and the Gold Coast comes through: Australia's coastal radio brand, still hitting the same notes it started with in 1989.